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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29396112">Of cats and other fickle things</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vryheid/pseuds/Vryheid'>Vryheid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>OMORI (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cats, Feel-good, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kel is wholesome, Mid-Canon, Mute Sunny, People should really be more like dogs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:08:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29396112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vryheid/pseuds/Vryheid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kel doesn't know exactly what's wrong with Sunny, but he still tries his best to help.</p><p>Takes place on day 2 of the true/normal route.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kel &amp; Sunny (OMORI)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>167</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Of cats and other fickle things</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Aww, h-hey there little guy! You want a p-”</p><p>Without waiting to hear the rest of the sentence, the orange tabby Kel had attempted to pet flicks its tail in annoyance before turning aside and trotting off.</p><p>“-pet? Or… don’t, I guess.”</p><p>Kel sighs and leans back on the bench he’s resting on, wondering what possessed the overpopulated crowds of feral cats holed up in Faraway Park to conspire against any sort of positive human interaction he brought with him. Dogs- those were easy to understand. Hector would jump at any chance at a pet or a belly rub, even from a total stranger, and reveled in the attention he’d inevitably get. Dogs in general were just… so much easier to make friends with. Cats? Incomprehensible.</p><p>For an awkward moment Kel felt inexplicably out of place, sitting next to his friend who he’s barely seen in the last four years. There he was, grasping on to a tether of normality in a park that might has well have been the last decaying thread of shared community holding Faraway together. As nice as the moment felt, he couldn’t ignore the homeless drifters in bundles of rags and disheveled looking office workers with recycling bin helmets shuffling around the fringes of the basketball court like cultists-turned-zombies. Nor could he ignore the bags of beer bottles, rotten food and plastic wrap lying strategically positioned behind every other tree and rusty piece of playground equipment like shrines to whatever god of urban decay seemed to hold divine sway here.</p><p>It was hard to tell what, if anything “belonged” here anymore other than nostalgic memories of playing outside on warm summer days back when the local parents still cared about such things.</p><p>Then Kel turns his head to the opposite end of the bench, where Sunny looks almost ghost-like with his pale complexion and exhausted eyes. All he’d doing is sitting there- slumping forward noncommittally as if totally disinterested in the world around him- yet a large cat with scruffy, chocolate-colored fur and a white-chested calico were practically throwing themselves at him, rubbing all over his lap and fighting for the limited real estate his shorts provided.</p><p>Feeling another bout of determination, Kel reaches out in another attempt to pet a short ginger cat daintily crawling around his legs- but stops when he feels a tug on his sleeve coming from Sunny’s direction. Sunny’s movements are sharp, and a little awkward, but they’re expressive enough that Kel can understand the general idea behind them. The boy points to Kel’s eyes, to the cat, then crosses his hands like an “X”.<em> Leave the cats alone?</em> Kel thinks. He sighs, feeling a twinge of disappointment at being unable to mimic Sunny’s apparent feline magnetism.</p><p>Kel leans back, trying to distract the awkwardness of the moment with cheerier thoughts. “This kinda reminds me of that gift we got for your birthday,” he offers with a grin. “The building block set, remember? You and Mewo used to hide in the box it came in so much I thought we were going to start moving your bed in there.” Sunny flinches slightly at the mention of the cat’s name, but slowly looks up at Kel and nods. “I mean, nothing wrong with that,” Kel continues. “It’s just good to see you out here again, you know? I miss when we used to hang out at the park like this."</p><p>"I could have sworn we picked up all these bags of trash yesterday, but it's like there's just as much litter now as there was before," <em>At least the court is still clean,</em> Kel thinks, dribbling his basketball in thought. "Hey, maybe later we could go around on another cleaning run. You liked that yesterday, right? Plus, all those extra bills-”</p><p>Sunny shrugs noncommittally, now gently stroking the two cats competing for his lap as a third gray furred cat casually settles in on his feel like a large fluffy pair of slippers. Kel does his best to ignore the felines' existence.</p><p>"I guess we should think about picking up that order at Gino’s pretty soon. I got the perfect thing for Hero- just you wait. I hope you brought an appetite, cause Mom loves serving up a feast," Kel says invitingly. The possibility that Hero might have possibly changed tastes in sandwiches in the last four years isn't one Kel willing to entertain.</p><p>Sunny cocks his head slightly and mechanically pulls out a crinkled wad of dollar bills, offering it towards Kel.<br/>
Kel pokes Sunny’s arm and laughs. “I’m not going to make you pay for it, Sunny. You already bought that book for Hero, remember?"</p><p>Sunny shrugs and stuffs the mass of bills back in his pocket.</p><p>Kel leans back and closes his eyes, trying to savor the moment as best as he can. In the distance, he can make out Cris’ dad playing some 60s rock band music he’d never heard of and shouting something about hamburgers. <em>Maybe Sunny would like a cookout sometime,</em> Kel wonders. When he opens his eyes again, Sunny is still sitting in the same position, staring down in front of him, a slight frown visible on his face.</p><p>"Are you thinking about yesterday? About what happened at the church?" Kel asks cautiously.</p><p>Sunny shrugs, then nods slowly.</p><p>"Yeah, me too," Kel replies with a sigh. “I wish neither of us had to go through that. I know Aubrey’s pretty mad at me right now, but she had no right to take Basil’s photo album! And all that terrible stuff she said about us and Mari- what the hell is her problem, anyways?” He still feels angry  about what happened, but… something about what happened didn’t sit right with him. Aubrey was angry, yes, but he couldn't stop thinking about the flash of tears he briefly saw in her eyes, or the horrible way those parishioners at the church talked about her. It would have been so much easier to say Aubrey had simply turned rotten, but it was all so<em> confusing-</em> "We’ll have to deal with those missing photos later. Maybe when Hero gets back.” Kel tries to be as reassuring as he can manage, but the look in Sunny's eyes gives Kel the uncomfortable sense his friend is still bothered by something significant. It sure would be easier if Sunny could just speak up what was on his mind, but since yesterday Kel hasn't really pushed the possibility.</p><p>A sudden realization knocks Kel out of his train of thought. "Oh, that reminds me, I never did give you that knife back, huh?” Kel asks, feeling around his pockets.<em> Empty.</em> “Sorry, I think I might have dropped it by accident last night-." Sunny raises an eyebrow, cocking his head expectantly. "Well look, we can always buy a replacement from the megamart if you need one, but you really shouldn't be going around in public something like that. People could get the wrong impression, you know? Someone might think you're some crazy murderer or something-"</p><p>Sunny's eyes widen, and he suddenly snaps his gaze downwards, fingernails digging into his knees. The two cats flopped out on Sunny’s lap glance up at him nervously.</p><p>Kel looks ahead somberly, not noticing Sunny’s strained reaction. "But… I guess, what I really don't understand… Sunny, why would do you need to carry around something like that?” he asks quietly, a number of increasingly unsettling scenarios running through his mind. “Do you not… feel safe around here?"<em> Of what? Of who?</em> “I know some of Aubrey’s friends are kinda jerks, but they’d never seriously hurt-” he stopped as he turned to look at Sunny, who was audibly hyperventilating now, eyes wide and fingernails digging into his knees as if stuck in some kind of trance.</p><p>"Sunny, come on, talk to me,” Kel says with concern. But Sunny wasn’t even reacting to his words now, and Kel- he knew those eyes- he knew the expression he was looking at. Sunny was <em>terrified.</em></p><p>Whatever it was Sunny was afraid of, Kel just didn't know, and right now Sunny wasn't able to tell him. There was someone or something he was afraid of. And by trying to help him, by that simple little act of taking that knife away, Kel had left him feeling vulnerable-</p><p>A surge of frustration and guilt began to well up in Kel, only being able to guess at what was going on in Sunny’s mind despite the clear pain on his face. Was Sunny angry at him this whole time but kept hanging around out of some sense of responsibility or politeness? Was there some issue at home Sunny was dealing with that he felt he had to keep hidden from his friends? Why couldn’t there be some easy solution- some trip to Hobeez or visit to the lake that could fix things? Was there even anything he could do?</p><p>Kel struggles to find his voice, determined to say something, whatever it would take to at least make Sunny understand he just wanted to help. "I know this isn't much, but- I'm sorry for being pushy yesterday. I used to- I used to act that way around Hero sometimes, when he was still grieving over... well, I didn't even think that maybe I was making it worse," Kel sputters as best as he can manage, his voice trembling. "I was just so excited to get to see you again, and then when I saw what was going on with Basil, I didn't even think about whether or not you actually wanted to run around with me hunting down that photo album. " <em>It just… it felt right at the time, but-</em> "I didn't ask you if you wanted to fight Mikael or the rest of the those bullies with me either, or if you wanted to barge into the church, and I shouldn't have assumed- I shouldn't have taken something from you without asking first."</p><p>Sunny still is staring at something- eyes wide- as if he’s seeing some sort of ghost.</p><p>Kel leans over a bit, and gently rests a hand on Sunny’s shoulder. "Look, Sunny, I know you're going through a rough time, but… you don't have to be alone."</p><p>Sunny blinks and slowly turns to face Kel, his breathing steadying as if he had been drowning but had just been dragged out of the water.</p><p>"My mom has some pepper spray you could use if- if it would make you feel more safe," Kel adds, the words coming more naturally as Sunny’s panic attack seems to wear off. "But if you ever get worried about someone hurting you, you can always let me and Hero know about it, alright? We’d never let anyone put you in danger." And he means it. "I mean- you don’t have to tell us if you don't want to, and I won't judge you if you don't. But- we’re always here for you if you need us.”</p><p>This answer seems to appease Sunny, who visibly relaxes after a few seconds of contemplation. Sunny then slowly reaches an arm out towards Kel, indecisively, as if desperately willing himself to communicate but still being unable to speak. After a few seconds, the younger boy settles on simply reaching his palm out towards Kel in a gesture they were both very familiar with.</p><p>Kel blinks in surprise and then gently returns Sunny’s high five with a warm grin on his face. Even if he still didn’t know what going on in Sunny’s head, whatever he said must have been what Sunny needed to hear.</p><p>The brief respite of the moment was interrupted by another set of fuzzy black paws walking directly over Sunny’s head and settling on his shoulders. Sunny didn’t even flinch from the new arrival, a fourth cat now using him as a body warmer in addition to the two on his lap and one still napping on his feet. At this point, Kel could only shake his head. “Seriously, Sunny, I don’t know how you do it,” Kel says with a chuckle. “It’s like… all you do is let them come to you, and they go crazy over it,” trailing off as he notices a gentle prodding on his pants leg. Sunny points at the side of the bench just beyond Kel with his free hand and Kel slowly looks down, and in astonishment sees the orange furred tabby from earlier curled up next to his thigh. “You just let them come to- to-”</p><p><em>When in the world did that happen,</em> Kel wonders, while forcing his Orange Joe fueled body to be still enough as to not disturb the cat’s grooming. He turns back to Sunny, who faintly cracks a smile at Kel and gives him a thumbs up.</p>
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